Jesse Mitchell
Jesse Mitchell, a Black man, was held in the jail at Amelia Court House, Virginia, in September 1893. The Morning News and the Alexandria Gazette reported that on the night of September 14 a mob of about twenty-five people broke into the jail after midnight, took him out and hanged him from a tree before dispersing. The Hopkinsville Kentuckian instead reported that he was hanged on September 15 as a judicially ordered execution, so the reports differ on both the manner and the date of his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed). Newspaper accounts say a mob of about twenty-five broke into the Amelia Court House jail after midnight, took him out and hanged him, while another account describes a judicial execution on September 15, 1893.
Reported by: 1893 newspaper accounts (reporters).